Ripple Unveils Expanded Suite of Offerings

What’s in a name? Blockchain solutions company Ripple is about to find out. Today, the company has unveiled a new name for its existing global payments network, as well as a handful of new solutions.

RippleNet, the global payments network, has more than 90 customers and is undergoing more than 75 commercial deployments. The network’s digital asset, XRP, was listed by five new exchanges in the second quarter of this year, which resulted in $11.06 billion worth of XRP transactions. By the end of the second quarter, XRP had risen by 11.6x from the previous quarter and by 39.8x year-to-date.

The San Francisco-based company structured a suite of offerings in support of XRP:

xCurrent is a payments processing solution powered by the Interledger Protocol (ILP). The enterprise software solution allows financial institutions to instantly send and receive international payments. The payments include end-to-end tracking and bi-directional messaging, as well as standardized transactions through a Rulebook.

xRapid leverages XRP to lower the liquidity costs of payments in emerging markets. xRapid is currently still in development, but the company anticipates more developments over the coming months.

xVia is a payments interface available in an API that allows users to send international payments through a bank or payment provider on RippleNet. xVia is also in development and will offer users transparency into their transaction as well as the ability to attach invoices and other rich payment details.

In a blog post announcing the change, Ripple VP of Product Asheesh Birla explained how these developments are all aimed at helping Ripple move toward its singular goal of creating the Internet of Value (IoV). “Our products are coming together (and growing) to support our one, single vision,” Birla said.

Last fall, the company appointed Brad Garlinghouse as CEO, who filled the seat of Chris Larsen who co-founded the company in 2012. Larsen debuted Ripple (originally known as OpenCoin) at FinovateSpring 2013. In addition to making headlines for its rapid growth during the first half of this year, Ripple also made the news this spring when it partnered with BBVA to complete an international money transfer using RippleNet. The company has raised more than $93 million.